The Rings Of Power Feels Like The Trailer For A Better LOTR Show That Doesn't Exist

The Rings of Power really could have been something spectacular, but it came out feeling more like a condensed preview for a larger project. There's no question that the Lord of the Rings franchise has near limitless potential, as author J.R.R. Tolkien provided us with one of the most expansive fantasy universes of all time. Peter Jackson's film trilogy barely scratched the surface, and for years we waited for what seemed like the inevitable arrival of more projects set at different points in Middle-earth's timeline. Enter, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

A Second Age story was among the most requested in the Lord of the Rings fandom, so Prime Video's initial announcement that one was on the way was a pretty big deal. Rings of Power would finally dive into the story that served as the brief epilogue (narrated by Kate Blanchett's Galadriel) in Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring—Sauron's creation of his One Ring and the others it controlled. It's an adventure that spans thousands of years, set in a version of Middle-earth that had yet to be brought to the screen.

Unfortunately, Rings of Power failed to deliver in the way many had hoped. The ongoing TV show has consistently received fair praise from critics (earning the show an 84% score on Rotten Tomatoes), but general audiences—those Prime Video really needed to impress—have been largely at odds with the project. Rings of Power currently holds a 49% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and data suggests that the show's season-to-season completion rate is abysmal. It's a real shame, since, in some ways, Rings of Power really is wonderful. It's just also painfully superficial.

The Rings Of Power Is Aesthetically Brilliant

There's really no doubt when looking at Rings of Power that Prime Video went all in on the aesthetics. In many ways, Tolkien's Middle-earth is the very foundation of fantasy. It's magical whimsy paired with gritty darkness, all of which come together to inspire the visual experience this genre is supposed to be. Rings of Power took the brilliance of Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies and spared no expense in replicating and expanding it with modern technology.

This was an absolute must, since Rings of Power's story spans across far more Middle-earth (and broader Arda) locations than Frodo ever saw in The Lord of the Rings. It's all part of why a Second Age story was so intriguing. Prime Video's very first trailer for the series did an excellent job of showing us all that it had achieved. Númenor, Valinor, Khazad-dûm, Lindon, Eregion—Tolkien made these locations sound delicious in his works, and Rings of Power finally allowed our eyes to consume them.

While Rings of Power did a great job setting the stage, a TV show is no good if that's all there is to it. The trouble comes in as Prime Video struggles to fill its world with a story that is as expansive as its setting. What it offered instead felt like a bite-sized portion of Tolkien's legendarium. Essentially, Rings of Power is to the broader world of The Lord of the Rings what a short teaser-trailer would be to a lengthy movie or TV show.

The Rings Of Power Makes The LOTR World More Digestible

In Lord of the Rings canon, the Second Age of Middle-earth spanned 3,441 years, beginning just after the defeat of the Dark Lord Morgoth and ending with the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and Sauron's loss of his One Ring. It wasn't until about 1,500 years into this age that the villain began making the Rings of Power, and he didn't complete them or his own supreme Ring for another couple of hundred years. Then, it was several thousand years before Isildur took up his father's sword and cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand.

Rings of Power has condensed a significant chunk of this story down to a handful of weeks. Just as a trailer would squash a film or TV show's highlights down to a couple of minutes, Prime Video's Lord of the Rings turns Sauron's rise to power into a superficial summary of events. It looks pretty, but the simplification does no real justice to the expansive universe Tolkien created.

The condensed nature of Rings of Power isn't the only reason it feels like a Middle-earth advertisement. Those initial storylines in season 1, some of which led nowhere, served as shallow hooks that aimed to lure viewers in. Love tirangles and redeemable villains—these are dull tropes meant to make a sneak peek feel more accessible. They have no real place in a truly expansive story.

The Second Age Could Have Made For A 10/10 Lord Of The Rings TV Show

Rings of Power's greatest troubles come from its painfully condensed scale—so why did it ever take that approach? In many ways, it actually makes sense. The Second-Age timeline wouldn't have been easy to adapt one way or another. Most of the key players in the story are immortal, but the various dwarves and men aren't. Rings of Power condensed the timeline so characters like Elendil and Isildur could be present from beginning to end, and there's certainly value to that. However, this choice has everything to do with why the TV show feels more like a preview of something larger.

While it would have been tricky, the Second Age's timeline in all its glory could have been captured by a more expansive TV show. An anthology or non-linear approach would have been amazing. Characters like Sauron, Galadriel, and Elrond would have been constant features, but episodes and seasons could have been set at various points across those 3,441 years.

This may be an unpopular example, but The Witcher season 1 comes to mind when considering how Rings of Power could have managed its time differently. This Netflix fantasy spanned hundreds of years in its first installment, and only after a handful of episodes did we realize that events were happening out of order and centuries or decades apart. Had Rings of Power taken this approach, we could have still had plenty of time with mortal characters without losing the massive scope of the series.

Prime Video promised us an epic fantasy TV show unlike anything we had ever seen before, and since the story would be based on Tolkien's Second Age, we had every reason to believe it would deliver. What it gave us isn't bad. There are redeeming qualities. However, considering just how absolutely spectacular a full-scale Second Age Lord of the Rings show could have been, it's a bit hard to be content with Rings of Power. It's a teaser trailer for a broader project we may never see.